[Peace-discuss] Reality of War

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

As war looms on the horizon we must do everything that we can to prevent the 
immediate and enduring effects on our health, our environment, our lives, the 
lives of our families.  After combat participation during two wars and 
military service during peacetime that spans over 35 years I believe that I 
have some insight into the reality of war that can be used to discuss what 
has, will, and may occur.

1. War is 58 minutes of boredom followed by 2 minutes of sheer terror.
2. War is about killing and destroying.
3. War always involves combat participants and noncombatants who are injured 
or dying.
4. War is about medical triage where you must decide who lives and who dies. 
During and following battle you may or actually will encounter so many 
casualties  and while you possess a very limited ability to save lives or 
treat the casualties that you must let some die in order to save others.
5. War is about watching you best friend die in your arms. 
6. War is about immediate or delayed casualties.
7. War is about destroying of a nation's, city's, town's, or farms  
infrastructure with resultant air, water, and soil that cannot be cleaned up.
8.  War is about loosing the quality of your life that remains because of  
combat injuries.
9. War is about the psychological trauma that you must live with each and 
every day of your life.
10. WAR IS NOT A VIDEO GAME WHERE YOU PUSH RESET AND COME BACK TO LIFE, 
REGAIN ABILITIES, RESTORE DAMAGE, OR RESTORE LIFE!
11. War is realizing that you are never safe.
12. War is trying to survive with defective equipment.
13. War is realizing that you are out of ammo, out of food, out of bandages, 
and out of time.
14. War is total hell!
15. War is stimulating and thrilling and motivating.
16. War is about watching children die.
17. War is about killing children, women, or other noncombatants
18. War is about watching your friend die after being shot or stabbed or 
blown up by a child that you sought to care for. 
19. War is the last result.
20. War is human failure to resolve differences.
21. War is the absence of feeling, compassion, ethics, morality, and hope. 
22. War is realizing you are going to die because your rifle or pistol jammed 
or misfired.
23. War is about destroyed families.
24. War is not health for anything living thing. 
25. War is realizing that your battle plans will not work 
26. War is realizing that your combat intelligence was inadequate
27. Finally, to paraphrase Hawkeye from an episode of MASH:   

During war people including men, women, and children will get wounded or ill 
and neither doctors, nor nurses, nor medics nor GOD can save them. 

These points reflect my insights into the reality of war. So when we discuss 
war with someone who still desires of advocates war then we can list these 
points that in part reflect the reality of war. As a warrior who has killed, 
who has saved lives, and who has had to many friends die in my arms, I must 
do what I can to prevent another disaster when justification or viable 
threats have not been  proven. I ask each of you who receive this to pass 
this on, publish it, and think about the reality of war before you send more 
kids to die. Please add your own insights too. 

dr. doug rokke
warrior and patriot